Well, after I called and found out well “we have no internet yet” I replied and said well…we still like cash-back and I find they taking long to fix it. Maybe I should’ve apologised explicitly (I don’t mean badly…I mean actualy write out I apologise. But I still vexed).

Many years ago (when my parents first made Hajj), the Saudi embassy used to send emissaries to process passports and visas for the pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia for Hajj.

For various political reasons (so went the talk), they stopped coming. So the embassy in Caracas, Venezuela was assigned to the Caribbean. So pilgrims or the hajj leaders went there to get visas. Students go there too. Yes, our hajj visas were issued in Caracas last year too.

Well, the word was that they were coming again to Trinidad this year, and we were very happy because that Caracas trip is *stressful*.

On the news tonight, it was reported that a Saudi diplomat came in on Sunday to issue visas. On Monday the police came to his hotel room to interrogate and intimidate and search his room at the Hyatt. I think they said for guns…or whatever.

Why?

He travelled on a diplomatic passport and was met by representatives of the ministry of foreign affairs.

It’s outrageous.

Although I heard visas were issued this year, do you think they’ll ever come back to issue them?

They’ve already set small quotas for pilgrims coming…maybe they’ll stop us coming after all.

I am so ashamed but surprised?

If you know more, tell me. Right now, I’m watching IBN.

My powerbook isn’t quite dead yeat but it has vertical red lines running through it from start-up and then when (if) it loads the GUI there’s a box of vertical hashes following the mouse pointer along and when (if) it loads the console lots of the output is fuzzy.

Sometime during start-up it halts for five minutes and then recommences. I checked the dmesg (I think that’s what I check) and I think that’s just before or just after it starts doing things to the graphics card/video adapter (I forget precisely). And then 5 minutes later it continues in the log. I figure if it’s the graphics adapter and not say the display or whatever then it’s toast regardless.

I really need a new computer.
Now.
But I wasn’t ready for my powerbook to die.
*sob*

I even have lots of food-related posts in my head that haven’t materialized (the fact that pictures have made it to flickr amazes me).

It’s just I’m swamped, busy, tired, stressed and getting ready for Hajj. we leave in less than a week. And lots of trinis are saying it better. Maybe I should link but am tired…so I’ll just link to the Global Voices Online Trinidad and Tobago category and you can read it or not if you want.

Let’s see, flood, media and the PM, economy.

Oh and Trinidad Express still hasn’t properly responded to me. About what you say? Copyright Theft!

I’ll try to post goodbye before I leave for hajj/pilgrimage!

Last month they made éclairs. I was sooo looking for an excuse to make those and then to find out they did. I had no excuse…just people to eat. I let myself be governed by my tiredness.

This month I see this post in my RSS reader and wonder to myself…but it’s not the end of September yet but they made Lavash. I made Lavash. Then…when it finally loads (internet was down for a bit today) I see they made the recipe from Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice.

What did I make earlier this month? Two weeks ago?

I could cry!!!

It was that opera cake and party cake and napoleon and danish pastry and whatever that scared me silly.
Argh.
I’m so upset.

See the culprits here and here!

*sniffle*

Ramadan 6: Iftar 5: Barfi, Pholourie and Saheena by Lilandra, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

First things first, my brother, his wife and daughter have been home from school for the holidays. They’re leaving on Monday. Chennette came in yesterday to see them off. I’m telling you this *now* because a lot of the reasonings in this post revolve around that first very important point.

For Iftar, we had saheena, tamarind chutney, pholourie (supplied by our neighbour, yet again) and barfi.

All the fried food…oh my!
And barfi?
“My son here sooo long and I haven’t made barfi for him yet!”

There was also some maleeda (travel-special, coconut cooked so it won’t spoil the maleeda) and I left you last time with a “I have to go make pizza”.

Well…who fool me?

I went downstairs and Chennette was frying saheena. She says when she went in the back to help mom make the paratha roti (which you process/mash up finely to make maleeda), mom asked her if she’s frying inside or out? Chennette went, “what?”

Now, I’m already feeling sick because we just came back from a quick trip to the grocery where somebody was walking around in their work overalls and the smell was high (like petrol? gas? a plant?) and started to make me upset. I wanted to throw up.

So, I listlessly start making pico de gallo, cutting up onions, mushrooms, olives, realizing that tin of pineapples I *thought* we had was really fruit cocktail. All the while mom and Chennette are all making requests…hello! pizza! do you remember the pizza we were supposed to make?? Do you? The pizza for your travelling children so they’ll have food on the plane? And I slowly but surely get into will this never end? Will there be pizza? Where is brother who promised, after last time to help next time I make pizza.

Ooo brother appears and announces I’m going to the masjid to pray ‘Asr (middle prayer) and then going straight to get the barbeque. What’s everybody’s orders?
.
.
.
I know we’d discussed this.
But.
WHY AM I MAKING PIZZA IF THEY GOING TO GET BARBEQUE???

See, I was going to make pizza for people to carry on the plane (Chennette included as she’s going to Grenada for a week). But to make pizza just for the plane? What will we eat? So, my plan was to prep all the pizzas and bake some today and some tomorrow. Friday brother says he’s feeling like barbeque…you know, one last time before he goes and Chennette, when’s the last time you had?

*mutters*

I told him go then…Friday.

I wish they’d told me just don’t make pizza for us to eat. Argh.

So anywayz, all the while I’m chopping this, we have to pack up some saheena to send to the masjid and to send over the road and to send next door. Mom comes and says, “Did you slice the saheena and spread chutney in it?” Well of course we didn’t. We just poured chutney in a container to send (thank goodness for a nursing sister-in-law who could taste the chutney for us because oh my tamarind is soooo sour and needs so much sugar for chutney).

Mom dropped off the packages to the neighbours and collected the pholourie…and a tin of pineapples.

Eventually, Chennette and I clear up and try to decide what to do with the pizzas.

We’ll make them after we break fast…some time after. It’s not like we have a choice. It’s about quarter to 6 and we break fast about quarter past.

Then we decide…hmm…maybe we should toss/roll the dough out for four of the pizzas so we can just top em and bake em whenever we’re ready.

So, mom comes down to find us doing that and is like what? Why allyuh not getting ready to break fast?

But mom, we already have the kettlel boiling for tea…and brother comes home with the barbeque and rushes back to the masjid.

Ramadan 6: Iftar 5: Pholourie and Saheena by Lilandra, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

flash forward a bit, we break fast, we bathe and…yippeee! I make it to Tarawih salaah. I’ve been praying at home. I was trying to make it to the masjid to pray at least once this week because my brother has been leading Tarawih and I can’t remember the last time he did when I was around…hmmm…when they used to compete for 20 rakats of Tarawih in under 30 minutes? (but that’s another story). He’s leaving Monday. Theoretically I could go tomorrow but mom and I are dropping off a certain somebody to the airport so doubt we’ll get that.

Thankfully the masjid is air-conditioned and I had all the fans on to help it along. Lovely niece is very noisy. I could swear every time her dad went “Allahu Akbar” in salaat, she goes “Akbar”. She’s 10 months old. We won’t get into why, during the salaah, she had to change her pants. Oh no, we won’t.

Chennette didn’t go to the masjid as she’s not feeling well at all.

So, we reach back, open the door and there is Chennette in the kitchen, looking like she’s making the pizzas.

And the kitchen…smells funny.

Well, you know, we preheat the oven to 550 F for the pizzas…and the other 4 crusts that weren’t rolled out…were resting in the oven.

Yeah.
You get the idea.
On a plate, a large plastic cutting board and a small wooded cutting board.
They were our best and newest cutting boards.
Now? Now?

*sigh*

Chennette eventually burns her hand. Thank God it wasn’t me. It’s always me. Except today.

For that of course, I had loads of washing to do. Such a mess. I told her, that when I’m not feeling well, I don’t bake. I know enough when not to do anything because then EVERYTHING GOES WRONG. And I do mean everything.

She’s lucky that despite my aching feet, I felt much better than how I felt at the end of the fast and was able to contemplate washing up and the mess without fretting too much. You know me, I hate clean up.

And I haven’t even touched my lamb yet.

Pizzas made: Cheese pizza, Veggie pizza (olives, mushrooms, onions, pineapples), Meat pizza (beef, pimento, pineapples) and Quesadilla pizza (I didn’t defrost the sour cream and the yoghurt was bad so…avocado, nachos, pico de gallo, cheese).

Decision about the next four? Tomorrow. Or today. I can’t contemplate this again. I think we’re just going to roll them out. No waiting for rising or room temperature. Just roll them out and top them and bake them simply.

Chennette says at least we have something for suhur.

I say, never again for my siblings. Except next weekend when Big Sis and family pass through on their way to England and we make for them to carry.
But, I shall be better prepared. Really.

Oh I also say Alhamdullilah Chennette did the baking cuz I don’t know if I was up to it.

I’m so tired. I’m going to sleep a couple hours….happy that so far I made it to the masjid for tarawih once at least (note to self, don’t eat until after Tarawih and then only if you really want to) and have prayed all and fasted all since the month started. So far, I’m on par with the second year of fasting after I got sick. Insha Allah this will be the year I keep all (more on that later).

Mozzarella Cheese Pizza, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

We like Pizza.
I mean seriously like it…home made especially.
Every time we made our own pizza we wonder why do we buy? (1. cleanup 2. hard work 3. time)

But it’s a fun thing we do together.
So, last time we made homemade pizza we did a cross from Peter Reinhart’s (recipe found online before I got the book with the oodles of tips and instructions) and Alton Brown’s.
It was awesome.
I think we didn’t have enough and used the Naps cookbook recipe to supplement…and we could taste the difference.
*sniff*
Nobody wanted those…or at least we left them until last.

The great thing about making pizza is it can be a family affair. I couldn’t knead or roll dough to save my life (still can’t really roll…or TOSS!) but usually mom would make some dough for us in advance and then Chennette at the appointed time would roll it out. Sister the elder would chop everything (it’s never a hardship for her to slice onions and tomatoes or anything else. My brother and I would have burgers and hotdogs with only condiments partly because we don’t see the point of slicing for one person, partly laziness and partly because we also like plain burgers and hotdogs. Seriously!). I’d help out Sister the elder also…but usually my job would be grate cheese. Tonnes of cheese. My brother’s too I guess.

And then the serious production line starts.

As fast as Chennette produces a crust we’d top and shove in the oven.

So, I must admit, having every body in the house is perfect time for pizza. I made the dough balls waaaay in advance and kept trying to figure out the perfect time.

When Chennette flew in overnight on the way to that Canadian wedding, I figured yay!

And I thought everybody was on board with that.

Chennette, as usual, slept the whole day away.
Hmph.
We think we’re just a sleeping spot for her.
So…no help with the dough toss.

Sister the Elder has two children who decided to be awake and seriously it would be better her upstairs than the 2 and a half year old downstairs “helping”. (Thankfully she was there to bounce off my ideas).

Mom…who said we had no bread in the house and nothing to eat put up a bread in the bread machine.
Geez mom! I’m making pizza for the whole house. Even the non-cheese eater father will eat it, you know???

And…my brother and sister-in-law (and daughter) went by her parents for the evening. Didn’t you get the memo??? Didn’t you realize this was a joint effort?

My family.
Did they seriously think I wanted to spend whole day making 9 pizzas by myself and then be soooo pooped and sweaty…too tired to even eat or bathe???

Let’s not even talk about the family-bonding experience this was supposed to be.

Hmph

Thankfully, mom, who wasn’t supposed to do anything…she was supposed to be resting because her children (not just poor overworked Lily) were going to be making dinner, came to my rescue.

I sliced, made pico de gallo, grated cheese.
Mom defrosted spinach, found olives, hunted for the missing nachos which we seem to have hidden from the elder niece.
She listened to me when I wondered if I really should be making all these different pizzas.
Was morale booster when those people almost got only cheese pizzas! HA!
Unfortunately some of them might have liked that…

Tortellini, Mushroom and Pesto Pizza, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

So, I planned to make pizzas we loved and a sorta tribute to Antonio’s pizza in Amherst where I probably spent a lot of money.

I had 9 crusts and was walking around all week with a list of numbers and organzing what goes on what crust. I decided two cheese pizzas, two veggie pizzas, two avocado quesadilla pizza (in danger because people kept eating out the avocado and the niece wanted the tortilla chips), two spinach pizzas and one tortellini pizza.

So, during day light, I diced tomatoes, onions and tossed them with minced garlic, lime juice and bandania. This went in the fridge to chill or set. Oh man it smelled so good. Like a nice tomato chow.

I boiled a bag of Barilla cheese tortellini and then tossed it in some Barilla pesto (so what it’s not homemade).

I sliced local mushrooms and sauteed them in olive oil.

I took frozen spinach and sauteed that with…onions in olive oil.

I sliced tomatoes, onions, olives, pineapples.

In addition to a bag of shredded mozzarella and another bag of cheddar and jack, I grated more cheddar and sliced fresh (wet?) mozzarella and havarti and crumbled some feta and located the brie. Was there more cheese? Who knows.

I say I alot because it was rather a blur. I know mom was there. But I really needed her help for the crusts.

I took out two bottles of sauce (yes! bottles). Barilla N** something and some artichoke sauce.

When all the prep was done we covered everything and I went upstairs and relaxed until the sunset prayer.

All to start again.

I tried to find 9 pans…I think I found 7 and then had to use some deep pans. Yikes!

Mom and I tried tossing crusts but haha. No.
So mom started rolling and stretching on the table for me.
They were rather small.
And we wanted them too big.
We ended up joining a few of them together.

And…MWUHAHAHA!

Cheese and Veggie Pizzas, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

We still wanted 9 pizzas so we took the almost done rising dough from the bread machine (you remember this, don’t you?) and mom made two pizzas out if it. These two pizzas got one veggie pizza (tomatos, onions, pineapples, olives, mushrooms, cheddar, mozzarella) and one cheese pizza (cheddar, mozzarella, anything left over).

THere was another veggie (almost same toppings except one of them had more mushrooms and a touch of olives and the other more olives and a touch of mushrooms).

Also, we made a mozzarella only cheese pizza.

Oh…I should say none of these went in the oven while we were topping because I didn’t want to get confused and forget them or have toppings and no pizza…so we were doing all this in a 550F kitchen. It was HOT!

We spread ricotta and pasta sauce on two crusts. Not a lot of sauce, just enough to get a little taste. Then we ladled out the spinach and onion mixture and topped it with the crumbled feta and olives. I think this pizza was a great hit. When I woke up the next morning I had some difficulty believing only half of it was left.

Then there was the carb on carb special (yes lifted from Antonio’s not because it was my favourite pizza there but did hold a special place in my heart…fascination? train wreck?). We spread more pesto on the crust and then topped it with tortellini and mushrooms and brie and mozzarella cheeses. Of course we only made one of these. We’re not silly!

Avocado Quesadilla Pizza, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

And then the pizza I’d been craving forever. Avocado Quesadilla. Really just cheddar, jack, ole tortilla chips, sour cream, pico de gallo. Anything else I forgot? Who knows. I should’ve put more avocado. But regardless it was good and spicy and…I loved this at Antonio’s but…I don’t remember it tasting so good. Has four years really done a number on my memory or my cravings or was this just better? Who knows!

It took forever to bake. 9 pizzas at about 10 minutes in a 550F oven. I tried putting two pizzas at once but it got too hot and things dripped and burned and smoked so we scratched that idea. We??? ME!

Mom left me I think after the first pizza came out.

And Chennette, elder niece, nephew and their mother came to eat. Finally.

ANd at the tail end of our eating…brother, sister-in-law and baby niece came home to a nice smelling house at about 11pm? And couldn’t wait.
Would you like a slice?

A plate of pizza for breakfast!, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

I left them to do some clean-up.

All the pizzas were done and laying on the table…I took out cloths to cover them…told them to wipe up, wash up…I’m not sure if I had swept already. All my baking endeavours involve sweeping. Gah! I may have passed a wet swiffer but decided it needed real mopping.

ANd I was tired.
It was worth it by taste alone.
We couldn’t even tell that mom’s bread dough wasn’t the same as the rest (except I could…but it blended okay).
I would do it again…maybe
But I’m not crazy.
9 pizzas and only my mom to help???
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

But HA! At least they all ate at the dining table because the kitchen table was unavoidable occupied.

Our Kitchen, aka the Pizza Making Extravaganza, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

You can see the whole set here.

I browsed in mute.
I got annoyed with most sounds on the computer and disabled them. I only wanted sound when I was actually listening to music or watching a video file. Otherwise no.

Now. I’ve progressed.
I HATE VIDEO.
Especially if you can’t download it and have to watch it streaming.
Flash video, Windows video, quicktime video it’s all the same.
I installed the flashblock plugin just to stop it.
I mean most videos come with sound…so that’s one annoyance…to be loading a page and all of a sudden you hear sound (and something slowing down your browser).

But videos are so annoying. Everybody has them … on their blog, their webpage, their news sites, their self help sites. Can’t you just post pictures? Link to a gallery? Why so much video. Leave them at youtube so if people go there they know they’ll get a video…don’t embed them to your site. It’s frustrating. (Okay maybe one or two a year embedded is fine).

Do you know how long it takes to watch that dratted thing? Do you know before it’s half way done I probably close the webpage and give up. I have to be truly dedicated to stay and wait. Which is why I’d prefer to download it. I hate that word *buffering*.

I guess nobody really cares what I think.
Maybe I wouldn’t gripe so much if I had better internet. I don’t know. But if you tell me I’m going to see leather tiles…show me a picture…not a video.

*sniffle*

If my face looks pastier than usual, browner than usual, puffier than usual…one day it will look bonier than usual ;-)
I mean I must be a worry-wart or something.

I just washed my hands and looked up and it looked rather browner than my pasty hardly sees the sun tone underneath the brown …now I know some of my friends can’t tell…they think it’s always the same colour…they wouldn’t even know when I’m tanned and when I’m not…but I know and so does my family.

Well my evil parents dragged me out in the backyard today.
They gardening.
And I wonder why my skin is darker.
*sigh*
I’m not a fan of gardening and flowers (what’s the point?) and sweat and dirt and overexerting myself and heat…I’m not sure what I’m a fan of.

But anywayz I told mom if the plants don’t grow…don’t blame me and whatever colour my thumb is because she dragged me out. And if you drag me out…don’t let me contemplate all those plants that we don’t eat. What’s the point? Wasted space when we could be growing food. Okay…I accept orchids. They’re pretty. I like them. And I will let the anthuriums (if I could spell it) pass but I much prefer if the latter never make it to a vase on the table. Flowers and vases on the table get so huge they obstruct the view. They bother me.

And how can someone who is so crazy about her garden and her flowers put plastic and other fake flowers around the house? I mean seriously, isn’t that contradictory? I think I hate fake flowers more than I hate green plants.

Hmm…but I guess I’m not into real green or fake green so if I exist then so can mom.

*sigh*

But really, I hope the food plants grow nicely.
The sweet potatoes I promised to show you ages ago tasted GREAT.

I still haven’t uploaded the pictures anywhere oh oh.

See…isn’t that a good reason for not really blogging for ages?

Isn’t it???

Unfortunately it only happened last night…the smoking that is.
I knew there was a short in it before…I just couldn’t admit it to myself.

A month or so ago, I noticed that although my powerbook was plugged on, it wasn’t lighting. I thought maybe the brick had died…and then after I reconnected it I thought maybe the plug slider was loose or even the socket had gotten loose and so the prong wouldn’t stay in the computer properly.

But then I noticed that I had to set the cord down properly…and not interfere with it.
It wasn’t the way the electric plug was connected to the brick.
I should’ve been smarter.
Something dangerous could have happened.

Last night I got up as I couldn’t sleep to go work on something.

Tbankfully I didn’t put on the light.
As I moved the laptop to my bed I noticed there were two lights lighting.

The brick was flickering.

See, the little thin cord that comes out from the brick, as it moved back and forth it was sparking and smoking.

FIRE!!!
If only.
I disconnected.

Hmm.
Should I unplug ALL my electric stuff at night?
Fires are scary.

Also.
I need a new power adapter.
My brother has one.
If I collect it from the service shop…(but but but…I seemed to have not blogged about this but my the bathroom in my brother’s bedroom leaked in july/august or something and their whole room was flooded and his laptop was on the ground and was submerged….death! so is it smart to use the allegedly working power cord that was submerged? I have a feeling not).

So…I need to buy one.
*sigh*

So, I replaced a battery after a year and a half and now powercord after 3 years. That’s not bad.
I’m just worried about it going up in flames again.

Do other people worry?

Man.
When I first built my desktop, I used to run around smelling it. I was always sure I was smelling something burning. I was SOOO paranoid.

But my room has good airflow from outside. And my neighbours are always burning things. Or welding. They send me crazy.

*sigh*

Thankfully it’s fully charged.

I’m using dad’s ASUS laptop (my desktop is downstairs for my brother and sister-in-law to use and iMac mostly used by mom and everybody else).

It’s hard. I’m using windows. And can’t recall what software to use!!!
Maybe I boot my laptop to get my firefox and thunderbird profile off it so I don’t feel so bereft….

Well, let’s hope it goes away.
I was supposed to help with niece number one so that sister could take care of nephew number one (whose aqeeqah was done in Guyana although his head was shaved here (DUH) while i…slept!) and also get some rest. I’m not sure if she’s getting any sleep.

*sigh*

want to cook

*sigh*

I wonder if I’d do a better job of handling our mail ourselves.
Yeah…but nobody will be able to access it because of crappy internet.

*sigh*

I’m sure it’s not my fault.
But maybe I should’ve contacted customer service for clarification.

They’re going to blame me anywayz.
Chennette is going to have a fit.
Let’s not talk about mom.

Hey, I’m sick, double whammy almost (stupid fever) and I’m fretting horribly…but nobody will care. *sigh*
All my mail.
Why don’t I believe in backup?
(Okay, I *do* but I just don’t)

Will I ever? Maybe.

Or maybe this is the only way I know to clean house…lose things so I don’t have to actually throw them away.
This is why I don’t back up.

Like, you would think, it’s been OH MY LORD 10 YEARS SINCE SECONDARY SCHOOL (*faints* I just realized! yikes yikes yikes), 6 years since undergrad and 3 years since grad school…you would think I’d be able to at least go through some of those Secondary school things and throw away them (no comment on this paragraph from you know who that uses my iMac please!). Some of my undergrad things should be able to throw away too. The post-graduate stuff still gives me hives so that might need some time. *sigh*

I’m depressed.

I’m panicking!!!

Maybe the provider might still have my email…cuz they only deleted the domain, did they delete the mail stored? gah! gah! maybe it happens automatically because the mailboxes sure are deleted.

*panic*

It’s very sad.
I’m very sad.

According to the Newsday the EBC says:

Preliminary checks with the EBC also revealed that the People’s National Movement had up to 11 pm copped some 236, 420 voters, while the UNC Alliance received 103,247 votes and the Congress of the People had pulled in 119, 007.

Isn’t that sad?
That with that many votes counted (about 59% of the registered voters), COP didn’t get any seats yet they had the second highest number of votes? While the party with less votes won seats.

And Mr Panday and Mr Warner, stop blaming the COP. It is only your fault. Maybe if Mr Panday had retired gracefully people might have been willing to support UNC-A. I am sure there are many COP voters who will never vote for Panday.

And Mr Manning, maybe the only reason God put you in charge again is because he thinks we in Trinidad & Tobago deserve no better than you.

Edit: Shelly on CNC3 said the EBC said it was about 299k PNM, 194k UNC-A and 148k COP.

If you can’t keep the support of the people then you *lost* the vote on your own.

Maybe UNC-A split the vote … or should I say Panday. Maybe politicians should retire when they’re OLD just like other people have to.

Voting for Ramesh?? Heeralal? Not Anand? Shame!

Is Winston losing? Noooooo.

They need to at least win a seat.

Chennette says if we’re lucky PNM won’t get a special majority. Well, I can hope for that … or even LARGE miracles.

But then what? It’s not as if UNC does anything in opposition aside from being annoying Panday zombies.

*sigh*

We’re due at the polls on November 5th.

Now comes the election dilemma…of course most people don’t suffer from these problems. They just vote party…or race…or don’t vote!

I really do wish electing our Prime Minister was separate from electing our constituent. So say I preferred the UNCA candidate to run my constituency (haha!) then I could vote for him but if I wanted a different Prime Minister say the PN…okay! I can’t say that. Oh no! But you get it?

Anywayz, mom made reference to my problem in a previous post of mine.

What do you do when you’re supporting one party and you believe you need to do everything in your power to get them to win (i.e. vote for the candidate for your constituency come election day)…yet…yet…you don’t like the candidate.

Actually, I don’t know if we like the candidate.
It’s been said that he’s made anti-muslim comments…he’s arrogant…he’s a bad apple in the party (by others…I don’t know if the party says this).

There was a cottage meeting and my dad asked the candidate about the statements. He said nooo he never said that. Those were part of the allegations against him etc etc. His wife is muslim. Hmmm. Of course one of my mom’s friends said she heard it on the radio (other party, other party radio station).

What to do!
Voting is the only way to make a difference.
Well prayer too.
We don’t seem to have any other way for the voice of the people to be heard. Once our representatives are elected they do not listen to us and we can’t seem to do any vote of no confidence or make them do what we the people want.

*sigh*

On that note, I leave you with a picture of take out food. How is it relevant? Well there was some ‘Id-ul-Fitr luncheon that somebody was invited to which was a forum for one party to speak (no! i wasn’t invited). But somebody gave us take-away boxes…mom and I had been shopping that morning and out all day…we were so hungry…it tasted great :-)

My dad says that someone so bright should be ashamed. They should take back all her degrees for that.

Well, my mom heard the reason Kamla was sidelined was to keep the muslim vote. What I mean to say is that the muslims would not vote for UNC-A because they would be voting for a female Prime Minister and they can’t have that. And this is the reason she accepted the decision…for the good of the party…etc etc.

Hmm…I don’t know if it’s true but I would have been more likely to vote for UNC-A (ha!) with Kamla leading than Basdeo (and Jack) leading. Actually, in putting aside Kamla they didn’t have to put Panday as a co-leader. They could have used somebody else. I don’t think I could ever vote for a party with Basdeo Panday as a leader.

Also, COP and Winston Dookeran might have been more willing to entertain unity talks with UNC-A or at least accommodation talks with Kamla as the leader. And then…well who would lead if they won would still be up in the air.

But what’s wrong with someone who eats with a knife-and-fork?

How can you preach unity for Trinidad & Tobago while calling some Indians traitors to their race for running in any party they choose (now, I might consider some people traitors to their country for supporting a dictatorship…but that’s different). That’s not unity. That’s preaching race politics. Yes, we know everybody pushes race but at least don’t be so obvious.

How can you call for unity at the same time as you are insulting the people you want to woo? Serious case of right hand not knowing what the left hand doing (or the right brain cell not knowing what the left brain cell doing…yes! you only have TWO brain cells).

Back to the knife-and-fork…if you are preaching unity, doesn’t it seem contradictory to separate based on how you eat? Why can’t the people who eat with hands and the people who eat with a knife-and-fork unite to save the country. Are only the people who eat with hands deserving of being saved?

On a side note, don’t expect me to eat with my hands if you don’t provide decent facilities to wash my hands before and after I eat. But then, you probably don’t wash the dishes too well so I’m doomed anywayz…(doomed to die of starvation).

But, every now and again there are a few trini websites I can’t access. It’s very sad. More than sad, it’s FRUSTRATING!

They are
trinigourmet.com
themanicoureport.com
ttblogs.com/patrickmanning

I think they are all hosted by GoDaddy. That’s the only common factor I can find. Now my domain names are hosted by GoDaddy but not my websites…

Yesterday for a couple hours or so I was able to get them. I was happy.

Now, I don’t know.
Is Greendot (my ISP) blocking them? Are my dns servers not working properly? What’s up? What should I do? Complain to Greendot? ARGH

Also it is raining and I think my roof is leaking because there are water droplets on my screen.

*sigh*

Thankfully SuperMom is always around to prescribe panadol multisymptom and tell me that I have a cold or something.
How would we manage without SuperMom?
I would think my sleepless nights and tossing and turning on the bed and 20 hours a day of lying down on the bed (not necessarily sleeping) is me just withering away … Alhamdulillah for SuperMom!

But today I managed to make myself stay awake for….6 hours so far? And I talked to people (brother, SuperMom, daddy) a lot…so much that my simple sore throat (only sign of a virus I could see) is thinking of escalating into my losing my voice! I could barely talk to sister and niece on the phone!!!

Yes, I am no longer in Guyana. I’ve been home for about two weeks now but I haven’t had the energy to post, comment, send much email…actually do much. I had to shut down the computer a couple days ago and I haven’t even logged back into IRC. I feel so lost. But I can’t even sleep in my bed so what’s the point since the computer isn’t where I’m sleeping.

I’m so sick.

I’m fed up of being sick.

And people think I should reconsider my job.
Hmph.